The secrets are out about the mess Connor Cochran made by defrauding Peter Beagle fans.  So far, pressure forced him to make a public refund promise, and retract attacks he made against a bystander to distract attention. But he plays victim about the harm he did.  Here’s what you’re really hearing when you hear denial about it..

1) All of the deflection and smokescreening is admitting guilt for delivering no goods.

Conlan Press made countless sales under false pretenses, and gave buyers nothing for ten years.  Beneath the excuses and blame, everything circles back to this fundamental, undeniable harm. 

TEN YEARS.  Are you sick of lies yet?

New tips have been sent in about sales of Last Unicorn audiobooks around 2004.  They estimate 1,000 cheated buyers never got what they paid for – roughly $40,000.

(How far did it go after that?  Compare: The Last Unicorn did 2.5 million video sales in ten years and the “novel has sold 6.5 million copies.“)

The “Extra Deluxe” Last Unicorn hardcover has 79 sales in 2009 recorded here.  New tips estimate at least 350 sold.  At $85 per sale, that’s – roughly $29,750.

Connor Cochran is STILL expecting victims to trust that goods will be delivered.  He expects suckers to believe that the long chain of promises won’t be broken again. (Until it is.)  Here’s a few of countless lies through the years until now:

From 2005:

…we expect the MP3-On-CD audiobook edition to start shipping in 3-4 weeks.  …we expect the 8-CD audiobook edition to start shipping in 6-7 weeks.

From 2006:

* The MP3-on-CD Last Unicorn audiobook edition will go to press in February and ship along with Two Hearts.

The manufacturing problems that delayed the Conlan Press CD audiobook editions of THE LAST UNICORN (and the free illustrated hardcover collector’s edition of TWO HEARTS) have now been solved, and all orders should be shipping by late March or early April.

“Team Beagle” attempts to help in 2008:

I know that some of you have been waiting for two years and some of you have even been waiting for three years.

From 2011:

 GOOD NEWS DELAYED PRODUCTS UPDATE:  Nearly all of them will be done and shipped by the end of the year. Those that aren’t will be at the printing plant and on their way for shipping in early 2012.

IN 2014, THE CONLAN PRESS WEBSITE STILL SHOWS BROKEN PROMISES OF DELIVERY OF THESE GOODS FOR 2013. Some hold futile hope:

Hopefully Cochran can find the time and resources to ship out all those back-orders soon—and I’m really looking forward to seeing them in my hometown in 2016.

2) Buyers will still never get their goods.

Time marches on – and audiobook CD’s aren’t manufactured, because they don’t sell any more.  You might as well publish an 8 track tape.

Many buyers have forgotten or lost proof, making the attrition process pay well.

Some have begged for refunds (forced to initiate responsibility for Cochran’s job to fulfill what he owes).  Attention from this site is now forcing him to address them.  Some accept downloads, a Bait and Switch for what was promised.  Many resign themselves to perpetual waiting because Cochran refuses to tell the truth.

3) Fraud was done by promising products, like a business – but dishonestly operating like a Kickstarter campaign gone bad.

Buying a product is not pledging to a crowdfunding campaign:

I placed an order for a set of Last Unicorn audiobook MP3 CDs on April 15, 2005 and it still hasn’t shipped yet. But that’s not due to any sort of malfeasance on Cochran’s part, other than perhaps being a bit more ambitious in some of his projects than was truly wise for a one-person business. Given the number of Kickstarter projects that have failed to deliver over the last few years, he’s hardly alone in that.

Disingenuous comparison!  Here’s the malfeasance:  Cochran did not promise to “try” to deliver with terms of a crowdfunding platform or pledge drive. He directly took money for promised goods, not philanthropic support.  And this was not ONE failed amateur, first-time project, it was a series representing a publishing company.

Instead of fixing a failure, before accepting money for a new one – he repeated it again, and again, and again.

Beaneath supposed nobility of creator support, the profit goes to a crooked businessman, with old fashioned greed for lining his pockets.  It may or may not be cash.  But it is inflating property value of his company.

4) Conlan Press wastes ill-gotten money of YOURS on silencing complaints… instead of producing what’s owed.

In the Conlan Press attrition process, see massive effort wasted by Connor Cochran to deflect complaints – instead of doing a promised drawing to complete a book he owed.

It’s the true test of this crooked businessman’s principles. Instead of fixing a mess he made and repairing harm to cheated buyers, now he threatens with expensive lawyers to silence criticism and hoard ill-gotten gains.

Unfortunately, when he tried to play victim about this story, he lashed out to falsely accuse an innocent bystander for telling it.  It revealed him to be an ill-tempered abuser who loves throwing weight around to get his privileged way.

But you can read the truth here, and demand fairness. Look for Part Two soon.